Reasons many rape victims don't go to the police amid Russell Brand allegations

23 September 2023 , 16:30

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Reasons many rape victims don't go to the police amid Russell Brand allegations (Image: Getty Images)

During discussions about the sexual abuse allegations against Russell Brand, which he denies, one question keeps being asked time and time again - why didn’t the comedian’s accusers go to the police after the alleged assaults took place?

In a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary Russell Brand: In Plain Sight, which was made in conjunction with The Times and Sunday Times and aired on September 16, Brand, 48, was accused of rape, sexual assaults and emotional abuse - which the comedian strongly denies.

Many of Brand’s supporters have since shared their belief that the lack of police reports at the time about the comedian’s alleged actions prove his innocence - if Brand sexually abused or raped any of these women, why didn’t they go to the police? Why speak to journalists years later before ever stepping in a police station to file a report first?

“For people to question why a victim or survivor hasn’t reported to the police shows a lack of understanding and awareness of how difficult that process is,” Jayne Butler, CEO for Rape Crisis explains to the Mirror.

“We hear time and again from those who have been re-traumatised by reporting, with some even stating that their experiences with the police were worse than the assault itself. In 2022 less than 2 in 100 rapes recorded by the police resulted in a charge that same year, let alone a conviction. It is completely unfair to expect victims and survivors to put themselves through additional trauma when statistically they are unlikely to receive justice.”

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Russell Brand's accusers had their identity protected as they spoke to Dispatches for the Channel 4 documentary

In my opinion, rape and sexual abuse has effectively been decriminalised in the UK over recent years. In 2019, 55,259 rapes were reported across the country but during the same period, there were just 1,659 rape prosecutions and 702 convictions. “5 in 6 women who are raped don’t report it to the police, citing embarrassment, not thinking the police will be able to help, and feeling humiliated as reasons why,” Jayne adds when speaking with us earlier this week.

But it’s not just a lack of hope that reporting your assault will result in a conviction that puts victims off speaking to authorities. RASA Merseyside, who work with victims of sexual violence to give them back the life they had, tells us how “shame, guilt, fear of friends and family finding out and blaming them, losing friends, not being believed, losing phone, fear of medical exam, and so much more” also plays a part when decided not to report rape to the police.

“Imagine telling a complete stranger about the worst and most intimate thing that has ever happened to you. Imagine knowing that this complete stranger will not be there to believe you or to support you, but to ascertain if you are telling the truth. Imagine that first contact,” the organisation based in Bootle, Liverpool tells us when discussing why some rape victims don’t feel comfortable speaking to the police.

“None of us know how we would react until it happens to us but it is unlikely and unrealistic to expect that the first thing we would want to do is tell a stranger – and one who may simply see it as yet another case that day.”

Jayne from Rape Crisis add: “Whenever there is a high-profile case of sexual violence, social media is awash with rape myths and misogyny. Women and girls are disbelieved, blamed for their own abuse, and scrutinised in a way that victims of other crimes are not. Victims and survivors will also see some members of the public making excuses for perpetrators, minimising their behaviour and attacking those who speak out against them.

“What this shows is a need for cultural change. We cannot accept that rape and sexual assault claims are only valid or true if they’re accompanied by a police report.”

Since Channel 4 aired its Dispatches investigations into the allegations against Brand, the comedy industry and multiple television channels have been under major scrutiny and many questions have been asked.

However, one important question remains unasked: when are we going to stop telling women to report their experiences of sexual assault while it remains severally unlikely that in doing so, it will ever result in any form of justice?

Brand vehemently denies the allegations made against him. Read his full denial here.

If you've been the victim of sexual assault, you can access help and resources via www.rapecrisis.org.uk or calling the national telephone helpline on 0808 802 9999